Burn
by SilenceOfRain7
Summary: A working collection of One-Shots centered around Luffy's burn wound and the healing process both physically and menally. Luffy and Law in There are Shadows in His Eyes (no slash! *complete*); LuNa in More Than a Flesh Wound (*working* multi-part)
1. There Are Shadows in His Eyes

-Burn-

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I decided to make a One-Shot where Luffy sees his scar for the first time after the war. If you haven't gotten through Marineford, then I warn you there WILL be spoilers. No yaoi, just some Law-doctoring-Luffy fluff. This is a touch OOC, but nothing major in my opinion. Anyways, let me know what you think! If I forgot any details let me know!

And thank you to XxFire-PhoenixxX for correcting my mistake with the yoi thing! Dually noted and appreciated!

One Piece belongs to the great Oda-sama!

Artwork is mine:3

Chapter 1: There Are Shadows In His Eyes

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Luffy slowly blinked open his eyes. The room was hazy and cool, a sign that it was probably early morning. Lazily, he turned his head to the side, hearing his hair rub against his pillow. His precious Boshi was resting on the little table next to his bed, catching the light coming through the slightly cracked-open window. His head was pounding, but the semi-cool breeze was helping.

Closing his eyes for a second, he slowly tried to remember what happened before he fell asleep. He remembered that the war was over, that Ace was... Luffy swallowed thickly. He also remembered feverishly ripping out all of the various IV's that were delicately but firmly stuck in his rubber limbs. The breathing mask was also a liability in his escape from the blood, the screams, that horrible DREAM. As soon as the mask left his face, his breathing had almost instantly became ragged from lack of oxygen. Luffy also remembered violently bursting out of Law's submarine, and his time in the forest...

Rubbing his face with the heal of his hand, he groaned, trying to get the remainder of the crusties out of his eyes.

"Awake?"

The sudden voice startled him, freezing his insistent rubbing of his eyes. Sluggishly, Luffy turned his head the other way to see someone sitting in a chair on the other side of his bed. The picture was blurry, but eventually he could make out a fuzzy white hat with brown spots on it, along with a plethora of tattoos.

"Law...?" Luffy wheezed. He had refused to put back on the oxygen mask, hence the difficulty breathing.

"You really shouldn't have left the infirmary – most of your wounds started to tear. Although, knowing your reckless behavior, I honestly can say that I half expected to sew you back up again."

Luffy shivered, even though his face felt like it was burning. He lightly clenched the thin blanket fighter in his fists, dragging them up just a little bit. "How..." He swallowed, trying to get the dryness in his throat to go away. Law noticed this and handed him a glass of water after Luffy half-hazardly pulled himself up. The raven relished in the cooling the water brought to his throat. "How long..."

"About ten hours." The Death Surgeon took the empty glass back and set it on the floor next to his chair.

Slowly putting his Boshi safely on his head, Luffy nodded slowly in understanding. At least it wasn't two weeks like it was right after the war...

An intense burning started to form on his chest, making him cringe and sweat a little more. Funny... he didn't feel anything like this right after he woke up for the first time... His hand couldn't decide whether it wanted to clutch his chest or not, so instead he settled for tightly clenching his shorts and itching the air above the thick bandages circling his torso.

Law must have noticed the confusion and pain in Luffy's face that he was so obviously trying to hide. "That's also the reason why you have a fever."

Luffy's eyes now bore into Law's with a mix of curiosity, increasing pain, and, deep underneath, a touch of fear. Luffy was almost silently pleading for an explanation for the immense fire-like pain that just wouldn't ease up.

The surgeon sighed. "Can you not feel it? You were severely burned, you know. It's a good thing you were unconscious – the pain could have made you go into shock by itself."

Of course. The rubber man stared down at his bandaged chest, face blank. "Who was it?" He asked in a soft voice.

Law paused, hesitating whether or not to say that the person who permanently scarred the young man was also his brother's murderer. The surgeon sighed again, deciding not to hide the truth from Straw Hat. "Akainu."

It felt as if Luffy was punched in the gut. Fire. There was fire everywhere, coming from the ground, coming from the sky, coming from his brother. Or more specifically, the fire wascoming from the massive hole that was ripped through his chest, quite obviously tearing out his lungs and obliterating his spine; the shaking teen could see the magma-coated admiral quite clearly through it, much to his horror. Blood. The red life-force liquid was EVERYWHERE, pulsing out of Ace with every weak heartbeat and dribbling onto the stony ground in front of Luffy's slight form. His flesh was cooking, and this one smelled entirely different from the meat that Sanji cooks – maybe that was because he was fully aware that the GOD AWFUL smell was coming from a human, his BROTHER. He desperetaly tried to move but his legs wouldn't work; instead they just twitched under his body as if unsure of what to do. As soon as his brother was falling, however, his legs made one last successful move to catch the falling Shirohige no Kaizoku. The blood was warm on his hands as it bubbled past his fingers. And after his last brother's final words ("For loving me, atigatou!") were forced passed bloody lips that were wet with tears, his throat was raw and burning as broken sobs were ripped out of his lungs. This feeling, of utter DESPAIR and HOPELESSNESS, oh God, oh GOD-

"LUFFY!"

He was jolted out of his own mind. He wasn't on the battlefield, he was in the infirmary (a different one than the ICU down on the lower levels of the submarine, which was in disarray at the moment...) and Law was staring at him. Luffy's heart was jumping and sputtering, as if it forgot how to work properly, and for once since this whole fiasco he wished for the breathing mask. The burning only seemed to increase on his chest – why did it hurt so much more now that he knew it was HIM that gave it to him? He was wheezing – he knew he was – while clutching the bandages on his chest, semi-ignoring the tight, hot burning it brought.

Through his pain-filled haze (both mental and physical) he could hear Law get up and bring something over to him. "Straw-hatter!? Oi! Mugiwara-ya?! I need you to breathe, okay? You have to breathe!" Something was shoved into Luffy's hands, and, along with Law's own, was brought up to the raven's face.

Cooling air was coming out of the mask, easing his aching lungs gradually. More so out of instinct than anything, Luffy clutched the breathing mask with a primal need, greedily sucking in oxygen. After making sure the bandaged boy had a grip on the mask, he let go and took a seat back on his chair. The kid's eyes were wide and watery, and his chest heaved. Once the oxygen started to work, the desperate need for the mask started to gradually fade, but he still kept it pressed against his face.

"Well, since you're awake, I guess now's a good time as any to change your bandages." Wide chocolate eyes gazed at him, clearly not wanting that, but too tiered to argue. Luffy just watched him as Law went to grab saline solution, antibiotics, and bandages. He wheeled a silver cart in as well.

For some reason, even though it was hard to admit it to himself, he was scared. Scared to see the mark that will forever remain on his skin, a constant reminder of his failure. Scared to get a glimpse of what happened after he became unconscious. Scared to once again remind himself that it WASN'T a dream, but instead horrible, twisted reality.

Law gently pried away the thin sheet that Luffy wasn't aware he was gripping up to his chest with one hand, while the other was still clutching the breathing mask, and resting the fabric on Luffy's legs. Once the blanket was removed, the Mugiwara no Sencho moved his hand to gently grip the bandages on his chest, refusing to look the medic in the eye.

"I'm going to have to get at it in order to clean it," Law stated matter-of-factly. Although he tried his best to sound bored and neutral, worry was so lightly hidden in his tone it was almost not noticeable.

Clenching his jaw and finally relenting, Luffy let the Death Surgeon carefully start to remove the bandages that circled around his rib cage. The more bandages he took off, the more Luffy could make out red through the white cotton. When the last few layers were being removed, some spots around the red were a yellowish color, and the smell that arose from it was sickly and slightly putrid.

"Che, damn. I knew it would be infected..." Law muttered. By now Luffy had taken off the breathing mask to get a better look at his chest. The smell made his stomach churn, but he refused to look away. He owed it to himself... to Ace. His aniki gave his life to save his – he had failed in rescuing him. It would be a slap in the face to see a visible, solid reminder of that broken promise, but he couldn't run away from this. Not anymore.

The second the last of the bandages came off, and the wound was exposed to see, Luffy promptly threw up on the floor. Even though he only saw it for a second, the detail and the shape had been sealed into his mind.

The wound was gruesome. His flesh had literally been melted away, leaving warped muscle and blistering skin. The edges were crusted with blood clots, while the center was shiny from moisture and white in places from infection. There were a few, sparse areas where thin, shiny pink skin had started to form, but other than that the wound was still pretty much open.

The worst part was the shape. Now a giant X dominated his chest. It almost seemed to be mocking him, saying, "Hahaha! X marks the spot! This is where your brother was impaled! Look here, everyone! Here is the failure!"

It hurt, too. It hurt a LOT. Not only was it hot from it being a burn wound, but since it was open and exposed it was really cold too. He really wanted to press his hand against it in hopes of easing the pain, but on the other hand he didn't dare touch it.

A cold towel was offered in front of his face and Luffy graciously accepted it, whipping away the remnants of sick and sweat from his brow. Law then moved to clean up the sick before it could get in the way in the future, watching the straw hat boy with concern.

Throwing away the filthy towel, Law went to move back in front of Luffy. "I still need to clean that, so you don't have to look."

Luffy shook his head, the towel still pressed against his mouth. "No... no I will..."

Law raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

The raven shakily nodded his head.

The surgeon grabbed a soft cotton cloth and doused it in saline solution. "You should lay down." Even though it was phrased as a suggestion, Luffy wasnt dense enough to know that it was more like a command. Complying, the bandaged boy carefully eased down while trying his best to not stretch (for once) his damaged chest. The second his head was close enough to the pillow, he let the rest of his body flop on the matress, sighing in relief as the pain of moving his exposed wound slightly let up. Law allowed him a second to catch his breath as he prepared a saline solution. "You can't move, Mugiwara-ya; it'll just make it worse for you." But as soon as the cloth touched the middle of the wound, Luffy flinched and hissed through his teeth.

Every time Law lifted up the cloth, it was coated in pus and thin blood. "Damn, guess this is what I get for not cleaning it within the past 72 hours... And would you hold still?! It was so much easier to treat you when you were unconscious..." He muttered the past part under his breath.

"You treated me when I was out?" Luffy asked, voice still a little shaky.

Law replied in annoyance, "How else would your wound get clean?"

The raven lowered his head. "Oh..." He was quiet for moment, not counting the few gasps that escaped his lips every time Law went over the middle of the wound, where it was the deepest. "Sorry..."

The surgeon looked up curiously. "What for?"

"For you having to take care of me for two weeks... For not being stronger–"

Luffy was cut off when Law put one of his hands on the young man's shoulders. "You don't have anything to apologize for, Mugiwara-ya. You practically went – no, you went through hell to save your brother–"

"But I didn't!" Luffy shouted. Tears collected in the corners of his eyes. "I didn't... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." The surgeon could tell the boy was trying to suppress sobs, and wondered who exactly he was apologizing to. He had a good feeling on who it was, though.

Without saying anything else, Law finished cleaning the remaining blood and infection from Luffy's chest. Law had antibacterial burn cream that he gently smeared on the X wound.

The rubber man visibly relaxed and sighed as the cream started to relieve some of the intense burning and itching.

Clean, soft cotton gauze was wound around his rib cage again, making the wound disappear behind white again.

Luffy's eyes started to drift close, but before they shut all the way three pills were put into his sweaty hand. He looked up at Law tiredly. "What're these for..." He mumbled.

"For the infection and for your fever." He handed the re-bandaged boy a small glass of water for the pills. Luffy took them without complaint.

"What was the third one for?" the raven asked after he handed the cup back to the surgeon.

Law collected the soiled bandages and put the rest of his medical equipment on the silver cart, starting to wheel it away. Wide eyes followed him and watched as he stopped right outside the door. The surgeon looked over his shoulder. "For pain."

Luffy gave a slight smile. "Thanks, Torao." The Mugiwara no Sencho yawned then, his wide mouth stretching even wider. "I wanna go outside."

Law furrowed his eyebrows. "You should be resting."

Luffy pouted, somewhat resuming his regular behavior. "But I'm not tiered!" He whined as he tugged the sheet of of his legs and swung them over the bed. "It feels like I've been in here for forever!"

A tick mark appeared on Law's forehead as Luffy strutted right passed the surgeon and started to walk out of the door leading to outside. "Che, shoulda known he wouldn't stay put..." He muttered. "Oi, Mugiwara-ya!" He called after the boy. "If you open up your wound I won't sew it back up again!"

He just heard the rubber man laughing as he rounded the corner and left the ship.

Law couldn't help let the slight smile form on his lips. "Kuso gaki." The smile faded almost as quickly as it appeared, though. "You've been through so much..." He turned away to finish cleaning up the small mess that was still in Luffy's room.

'Will he be able to recover from this?' The Death Surgeon thought. 'And if so, how much of his former innocence will be lost forever?' One thing was for certain: Luffy will never be the same as he once was. Akainu made sure of that.

After finishing cleaning up, he went to stand on the deck of his submarine, watching the rubber man happily chat away with Rayleigh and Jimbei. He wondered how much of it was an act.

'Be prepared for one hell of a recovery, Mugiwara-ya. Good luck – you're gonna need it.'


	2. More than a Flesh Wound: Part 1

This multi-part mini-story is non-cannon, takes place on Rusukaina, and is gonna be LuNa! Sorry if some characters are a little OOC. This story will probably go through an editing phase like There Are Shadows In His Eyes did. Let me know what you think of it!

One Piece belongs to Oda-sensei~ :3

Artwork is mine!

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More Than a Flesh Wound: Part 1

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"Iteeeeee! Rayleigh, yamero!" A high-pitched whine cut through the forest, efficiently causing the smaller wildlife that inhabited Amazon Lily to scuttle away into denser brush.

"Hold still, you burned ball of rubber! This has to be done!" A deeper and slightly impatient voice rung out, sounding slightly worn. "Why would you even try to go in the water in the first place!"

"Because I was hot! I was just trying to cool down!"

"It's nearly winter! There is no way in HELL that you were cold! Do you realize that one sweep of a current could have killed you?! Just what were you thinking!" Rayleigh stopped unwrapping the soggy bandages that were stuck to Luffy's chest and stared intently in the young man's eyes. Luffy's open mouth slowly closed and his gaze traveled down to stare at the ground. Rayleigh's look softened as he watched the fire that was in the rubber man seconds earlier slowly sizzle out, and watched as his hands absent-mindedly moved to make scratching motions around his chest.

Rayleigh signed as he took in the subtle body language that Luffy was unaware that he was making. "Luffy?" He asked gently, noticing how the Mugiwara no Sencho avoided eye contact, "Why didn't you just tell me it hurt?" The askew bandages that were on the ground were suddenly gripped in white-knuckled hands, and yet not a sound escaped from the teen.

After waiting a little bit for him to answer, which he didn't, the older man moved again to finish unwrapping the bandages. However, his motions were stopped by cold fingers that slowly encircled around his hand. "I'll do it," Luffy muttered, almost so quietly that it would have been easy to miss.

Not willing to argue with the teen, Rayleigh decided to just let him have some time to himself and work on whatever was going through his head - he was never good with comforting people, anyways. "Alright, but be sure to dry your chest and put this on it before wrapping it back up." Luffy was handed a small white jar filled with burn cream that Law had instructed he treat the wound with, and ever since it has been applied almost religiously. "Come out into the clearing when you are done." Hastily he stood up and started to walk away from the river where he had pulled a certain someone out from the water...

Once Rayleigh had dissappeared behind the tree line, a large, exhausted sign escaped the boy who started to slowly fumble with the bandages, wincing when they stuck to his deformed skin in places. This was not the first time he had done this - not even CLOSE. His actions for caring for his chest turned into more of an autopilot action than anything, and half of the time he didn't have to think about what exactly he was cleaning. He had never been good with medical care or treatment, usually opting to slap a bandage on it and trust that it will stop bleeding eventually. But when it came to this, however, he had learned to take medical situations a little more seriously. After all, it's not often that you are told there was a literal hole in your chest that was as close to fatal as it could get.

Today was different for some reason. Today, he felt the pain of the wound in full, something that hasn't happened for at least a week. So why had today been different? Was it because morbid thoughts would not leave his head no matter how hard he tried? Was it because no matter how much he tried to pretend it didn't hurt, he knew somewhere someone with a very similar wound was buried in a grave somewhere, devoid of life?

He sighed. Thinking about this would not bring his brother back - nothing would. He just had to accept that. But… could he? After all, it was HIS damn fault that his brother is-

"Oi! Luffy-kun! Doko ni imasu ka?! Where are you?! Someone just arrived on shore! It looks like Hancock's ship!" The teen's head snapped up as he took in Rayleigh's far-off words. A ship? And possibly Hancock's at that? But why would she come here? He came to Rusukaina to train, and the Hebihime knew that coming to the harsh island to fawn over him was ill-advised.

Even so, maybe it was an emergency; why else would she be here? Quickly Luffy smeared the off-white cream on the tight, thin skin and hastily wound the clean roll of cotton bandages around his torso. The dead leaves that clung to the branches like stubborn children rattled as the young sencho pushed his way through them.

Rayleigh was staring at the shore with his lips pulled in a serious line. "We better go meet her on shore," he began once Luffy quietly took a place next to the old kaizoku, "There must be a reason for her arrival."

* * *

"Boa Hancock," the Dark King nodded a terse greeting to the Empress as she stepped off of her large ship. A large scaly snake was wrapped around her neck, it's tongue flopping out of its mouth.

"Silvers Rayleigh," she replied calmly, "How is training?"

Rayleigh's smile warmed for a second, "Why don't you ask Luffy?"

Hancock's hands went up to cover her mouth and a hot blush furiously spread across her cheeks as Rayleigh stepped aside to reveal the wary figure of the Straw Hat captain. "Lu… Luffy…" Her eyes shone. ' He's even more handsome than I remember! Is it just me or has he started to re-gain the muscle he lost during his coma? Oh, Luffy~' She swooned to herself.

However, the teen's face didn't change from its stoic expression. He has had a pretty shitty day, and her arrival did not help his mood at all. He was tired, stressed, and in pain. But most of all, those horrible images of the war have been randomly resurfacing in his head all day, causing him to freeze in terror and clutch his chest as his breathing couldn't help but quicken. Maybe it was this… P… D… S…T or whatever he heard Torao quietly tell Rayleigh before he left. He had no idea what that meant, but he KNEW Law had said the word 'nightmares', so he assumed what he was feeling and what they were talking about were somehow related. He looked Hancock in the eye cautiously. "What are you doing here, Hancock?"

The Empress' smile dissappeared as she also regarded Luffy with a serious look, her normal air of authority returning to her. "There is someone who came to the island, looking for you."

The young pirate's eyes widened in suprise, then immediately hardened in suspicion. "Who would know where I am?" His sentences came out more as statements then questions. "There is no way that anyone should know that. Who is it," he demanded, "And what do they want?!"

Then a different voice appeared. "Um… Luffy?"

Luffy froze. He knew that voice - he knew it by heart. His breathing picked up. No. There is NO WAY that she could be here, and NO WAY in HELL he would let her see him like this. His back went rigid as he watched her step off of the boat and walk up to stand next to the Hebihime. Her eyes grew wider at the state her best friend… her captain was in. She noted the shadows in his eyes, the defensive curve of his spine, and the thick and many bandages wrapped around his torso. Her tangerine eyes started to glisten as she whispered, "Oh, Luffy…"

The captain's hands started to tremble. "Na…Nami…"

The navigator of the Straw Hats tenitively took a step closer, as one might to a wounded and scared animal, because that was exactly what he resembled to her. For every step she slowly took forward, he clumsily took two back, and it wasn't until she softly tried to reach a hand out to him that he took off into the woods.

Tears gathered in his eyes as he sprinted away from one of the people he loved the most. "I'm sorry, Nami," he choked out, "I'm sorry. Yokatta you are safe… but I can't let you see me right now… at least not today." He clenched his eyes shut as a few tears reluctantly spilled down his cheeks. "Gomen, Nami. Gomen…"


	3. More Than a Flesh Wound: Part 2

More Than a Flesh Wound: Part 2

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Here is MTaFW Part 2! Hope you like it! And thank you to all of the followers, favoriters, and reviewers! Every one of them means a lot to me, and every one I see motivates me to write faster! Seriously, arigatou.

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newgeneration: Thank you! Enjoy the latest chapter!

Killthebeast: I have always loved the LuNa pairing, too! If that isn't an accurate ship I don't know what is!

samira: Don't worry, this will be full of LuNa! I adore them^-^

luna: I love LuNa stories - enjoy the chapter!

Ihya: Here's the next chapter! Clever with the "moon" thing ;)

luffyxnami: Enjoy the chapter! And I'm not sure about lemons o-o

Guest(1): Haha thanks! I read a lot of angsty stuff:]

Guest (2): Hope you like Part 2! Not sure on lemon thing, though

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One Piece is Oda-sensei's! XD

Cover art is mine :3

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"How long has he been like this?" Nami asked Rayleigh once her captain had ran off into the woods.

The Dark King sighed and lowered himself to the grass, where the navigator took a seat oposite of him. He sighed heavily. "He usually isn't this… extreme. He has actually been doing good, considering the circumstances…"

Nami's eyes lowered and gently placed her hand over her heart.

"So I assume Hancock has filled you in?"

Nami only nodded her head in response, quickly swiping the back of her hand over her eyes.

Rayleigh nodded as well in contemplation. "Well that's good, I suppose. It saves me the trouble of telling you. And I'm sure Luffy…"

Nami pursed her lips. "Has he spoken about… that… at all?"

He shook his head. "Not a word. He insists that he is over it, though, and most days his attitude backs up that claim. But there are days like this, where he just can't seem to hold it back..."

"Um... hold what back?" The navigators eyes were laced with concern.

Rayleigh just sadly chuckled. "The pain, of course."

"…Oh."

The retired kaizoku started sadly at the clouds. "Not only is the poor boy in emotional pain -as displayed by his nightmares- but that horrible wound on his chest gives him more than enough trouble. There were a few times during training that the wound tore around the edges, and training had to stop for a week until the skin started to mend again. It also causes fevers to spring up out of no-where on occasion; he is just getting over one right now actually. Days like this he would call a Kuso no Hi."

"Is it…" she bit her lip, "is it really that bad? I mean, I saw his bandages, but I also noticed that they were still, well, ON." Upon seeing his slightly confused look, she elaborated, "Well, you see, if Luffy doesn't think a wound is important enough to be covered, the bandages come right off. Wait," a look of horror started to dawn on her face, "just how long has he had his chest covered?"

"Hmm, about a month and a half now, I suppose." When he saw the female Straw Hat's eyes widen, he leaned forward, continuing to elaborate. "As dim ad he can be sometimes, I also know he is absolutely serious about this because he cares for his wound more than he cares for himself at times. You see," he lowered his voice to a stage whisper, "I think that wound reminds him of his brother."

* * *

Luffy trudged through the underbrush, his eyes red but no longer teary. His head was starting to feel hot again - maybe he should sit down. He HAS walked a significant distance, and it would be very unlikely that they had followed him all the way out here.

It wasn't long before he reached one of the many large trees on Rusukaina, and this one happened to have a hollowed out bottom, much to the teen's relief. Exhaustion had long since settled into his bones, and before he knew it, he had collapsed on the forest floor. The pain in his chest spread throughout his entire being, causing his breath to catch and his arms to shake.

The setting sun cast a hazy, ambient glow over the dense foliage, and before he knew it, Luffy'seyes were closing against his will. Exhaustion overcame his mind like a thick wave of cream.

* * *

Nami stood up after absorbing all of what she had heard, determination flowing hot through her veins. "Where can I find him?"

Rayleigh quickly looked up from his mug that he had been nursing. "Nami-san, I don't think that is a good idea."

"And why not?" She demanded hotly.

"Well, usually when he's like… THIS… I just leave him alone-"

"To HELL with him being alone! Luffy HATES being alone! He tries to hide it, but I can see it…" Nami's fists clenched. She was just so angry with herself for not being there for him, for letting something like this happen to her captain… her Luffy… who had done nothing to deserve ANY of this. Angrily she quickly rubbed the quivering tears that clung to her lashes before a new glow awoke in her eyes. "I may not have been there for him then," she started, her quivering voice growing in strength and volume, "but I sure as hell am here for him now. Now," she stared right in the Dark King's now smiling eyes, "where can I find my captain?"

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Nami moved through the dense forest, following the landmarks Rayleigh-san had told her about. It was minutes away from being completely dark, yet she was trekking through Rusukaina anyway. The warnings that had been desperately given to her to be extremely careful were blaring through her mind when she realized just how HUGE and potentially DEADLY this island is, especially at night. Against his best wishes, he had given given her the largest firefly she had ever seen, after mildly stunning it with Haki, that is. This giant bug was tightly wrapped in a dense leaf that seemed to take the shape of whatever it happened to grab. This plant was also given a warning, that although she was nowhere near the main plant, the leaves of it were still carnivorous, and it was in her VERY best interest not to touch it's slightly-sticky inside.

Her ears pricked and she fought back tears in her eyes as all of the possibilities of just WHAT could be making all of these snaps and whistles. "This is worse then when I was forced to go on that freaking ghost ship with Luffy and Sanji…" she whimpered to herself. "Just remember why you're here, Nami, don't focus on anything else. Luffy needs you as soon as possible, so you just need to - WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, ALREADY?!" She spit fire into the trees, her teeth pointed. The navigator's nerves were fried, she was scared as shit, and the image of her burned and broken captain wouldn't leave her mind.

Frankly, she was done.

Nami gripped the giant glow-bug harder in shaking hands. "Come on, Luffy, where are you?!"

Suddenly, a thundering crash sent a quake though the forest, and the last of the small noises faded to complete silence. A hot gust of wind blasted from the dark trees, whipping Nami's mikan hair around her face. Then, as soon as it appeared, it hissed into silence again, the only indication that it ever happened was the almost serene swaying of the foliage.

Ice water felt like it was slowly trickling down the navigator's neck, and suddenly she felt alone. Very, very alone in this giant, dark forest.

GRRRRRRRRR…

A fresh wave of quivers traveled from her toes to her head. Oh no. Oh hell no. What… the fuck… was THAT. She wimpered, "Luffy…

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

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Luffy jolted awake from his exhaustion-induced sleep at the sound of a piercing, fear-ridden cry. The haze quickly cleared from his mind, though, at the fast-dawning realization of who that scream belonged to.

"Is… is that… Nami?" Luffy's dark brown eyes blew wide open. "N-no, Nami!" The sencho scrambled to his feet in a flurry of rubbery limbs. The sudden stretching of his torso caused his scar to throb and bite, but he couldn't worry about that at the moment. Nami was in the middle of one of Rusukaina's largest forests… at night. If he didn't reach her in time…

His feet pounded through the dense greenery as he drew in deep, ragged breaths. "Nami, I'm coming! NAMI!"

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R&amp;R! =^-^=


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